The Girl Death Left Behind by Lurlene McDaniel

you?”
    She didn’t answer. She flung herself into Teddy’s arms and burst into soul-wrenching sobs.
    “I can’t believe this. You’re here. You’re actually here!” Beth was sitting in Teddy’s kitchen, and Faye was pouring them a round of hot chocolate and talking a mile a minute. “I still think we should call your aunt’s. Ifeven just to let your cousin know you got here safely.”
    “Don’t worry. Aunt Camille will be calling us Sunday.” Beth had explained how her impromptu trip had come about. Now that she was home, she didn’t want to think about Tampa.
    “We’ve got to split.” Carl had gulped his chocolate and was standing, impatient to leave.
    “Where will you go?” Faye asked.
    “Fort Payne’s only an hour away, and that’s where my uncle lives. I’m taking Sloane to meet him.”
    Beth walked out with Sloane and Carl. “I really appreciate your bringing me.”
    “Glad we could do it,” Carl said.
    Beth turned to Sloane. “Guess I’ll see you … whenever.”
    “Maybe not,” Sloane said. “Me and Carl may just stay in Alabama. Nothing much for me back home, you know.”
    Beth didn’t know what to say. Change was happening all around her. She was home, but everything was different. She had ties back in Tampa, but she didn’t know what to do about them. She felt suspendedbetween two worlds, like a fly stuck to a screen, looking into one place, unable to leave the other behind. “You take care of yourself,” she told Sloane.
    “Don’t I always?” Sloane grinned.
    Beth waved goodbye.
    “We’ve missed you,” Faye said when Beth returned to the kitchen.
    “And I’ve missed everybody here.”
    “Teddy shared your e-mail with us. A good thing. It made it easier.”
    “You did a nice job on the flowerbeds. They really look pretty—just like Mom would have kept them.”
    Faye waved away Beth’s compliment. “Your mother was my best friend. I loved doing it for her. I miss her very much. I’ve missed your whole family. I miss watching you grow up, Beth. These have been the saddest months of my life.”
    Teddy hauled himself up from the table. “So why don’t I take Beth around to see everybody? That’s why she came.” Once they were outside, he added, “Thought we should blow the place. I was afraid Mom would start bawling in front of you.”
    “I’ve cried plenty, that’s for sure.”
    They walked around to the side of the house, where they’d spent so many hours playing Horse over the years. “You know Marcie’s out of town, don’t you?” he said.
    “She told me she was going to her grandmother’s in Kentucky. If I’d planned this trip, I’d have made sure I came when she was here, but it wasn’t planned. You know I want to see her.” She pursed her lips. “You still kissing her?”
    Teddy turned a deep shade of red. “Who told you that?”
    “Who do you think? We’re friends, you know.”
    “You still kissing that guy down in Tampa? What’s his name?”
    Beth gasped. “Marcie! That little rat fink. I told her not to tell.”
    Teddy grinned. “We used to be friends and you told me everything.”
    “Not that.” Beth’s cheeks grew warm. Partly because Jared’s face and smile and the way he’d looked at her the night he’d kissed her jumped into her memory. She half expected him to materialize so that she could introduce him to Teddy. “You’d like Jared. He reminds me of you in some ways.”
    Teddy picked up the basketball. “Want to shoot a few?”
    “I’m rusty.”
    “Can’t kick my butt anymore?”
    She snatched the ball. “Let me warm up.” She dribbled and shot. And missed.
    “It’s good to have you home again, Beth. If there’s anything you want to do, tell me.”
    She said, “I want to go to the cemetery. I want to be with my family again.”

21
 
    I t rained. For three days a hard, drenching rain kept Beth captive at Teddy’s house. Flash flood warnings and downed trees and power lines held the city at a standstill. By